A Validated Model, Scalability, and Plant Growth Results for an Agrivoltaic Greenhouse

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The presented article is a numerical and experimental study of a greenhouse module with built-in photovoltaic modules. The topic of the article is relevant and may be of interest to specialists and researchers in the fields of agriculture and the optimal use of resources. The article provides a mathematical model of the greenhouse module and compares it with the obtained experimental studies, the authors have done a certain search and analysis of sources, however, as comments and recommendations, several points should be noted:

1. For which regions is it more relevant to use solar modules as part of greenhouses?

2. What is powered by electricity from solar modules?

3. What is the rationale for the location of the transparent window of the greenhouse and its width (5.2% of solar radiation enters the greenhouse)? At sunrise and sunset, almost no light will penetrate into the greenhouse (Figure 15) - without artificial lighting, will plant growth be satisfactory? This approach is relevant only for shade-loving plants.

4. To reduce the temperature and overheating of plants, it is necessary to initially install fans inside the greenhouse.

5. Is the growth of plants in the greenhouse satisfactory based on Figure 16? It is interesting to compare and photograph plants from the developed greenhouse and a conventional greenhouse without solar modules (what would be the graphs in Figure 19 in this case).

6. In the proposed design of the greenhouse, warm air will prevail at the rear surface of the solar modules in the upper part of the greenhouse near the transparent window and stagnate. To visualize the thermal fields of the model and the movement of masses, it is advisable to use a finite element analysis system.

7. What are the heat losses through solar modules at night and cold periods - solar modules do not have thermal insulation.

8. The technical parameters of solar modules should be added to the text of the article or Appednix (the indicated 14% efficiency is currently very small for modern panels with an efficiency of 18-20% - how will the air in the greenhouse be heated in this case?).

9. What is the expediency of using plywood, rather than transparent glass or solar modules in the construction of the greenhouse from the north and south sides - the loss of the ray-perceiving area of ​​the structure, and artificial lighting is not provided.

10. How scalable for large greenhouses is the model for the calculated greenhouse module?

11. Authors should use more modern sources on relevant topics from high-ranking world journals. The directions for further research are indicated by the authors, but it is better to single them out in a separate subsection in the article.

12. What is the reason for the high error in Table B1 for the third measurement? At the line 256, authors should correct the source "[need ref. here];". The description of Figure 16 should be placed before Figure 16 itself.

The above recommendations and questions are not purely critical - taking into account the recommendations and answers to these questions will strengthen the presented work.

 

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

The work reports are interesting and have important findings for the sustainable agriculture.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf